Letters: Do we really need to legalize marijuana?

Marijuana contains carcinogens, or cancer-causing chemicals. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, pot contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogens than the tobacco found in cigarettes.

Although more research is needed to determine whether smoking marijuana directly causes cancer, studies have shown that pot smokers are more likely to show abnormalities in the cells in their lung tissue and to have a number of respiratory problems, including a regular cough, excessive phlegm production, more frequent chest illnesses and respiratory conditions.

So what happened with the no-smoking campaign. Do we really need to legalize marijuana?

- Pat Bartlett

Pensacola

Real danger

I woke up this morning and asked myself this question: Who presents a real and present danger to my country, my paycheck, my family and my health? Is it Barack Obama or Phil Robertson?

Ask yourself the same question. If your answer is Uncle Phil from "Duck Dynasty," you could qualify for a job with the national news media.

- John A. Blackie

Lillian, Ala.

Gun control

Another school shooting, another call for "reasonable" gun controls.

Today's panacea is apparently "universal background checks" - all transfers of firearms must be accompanied by a background check conducted by a licensed firearms dealer, complete with record-keeping.

These public mass shootings over the past 13 years were committed by individuals who either stole their guns, or who bought them from those same licensed dealers - and passed the background check.

Universal background checks are decentralized gun registration. The information is available to any federal agent. We're one executive order or regulatory change away from consolidating that data into a centralized registry.

Registration does not automatically lead to confiscation? No, but it is a necessary precursor to any effective confiscation program.

You don't have to go back to Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia, for an example. New York City has required registration of all firearms lawfully possessed by city residents for decades.

Because of a recent change in the law, today New York City gun owners are receiving letters informing them that have to move their firearms out of the city or surrender them to police.